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SpeleOenologie®

A unique experience in the heart of the Saint-Marcel-d’Ardèche cave

At the confluence of the Rhône and Vivarais rivers, near the most beautiful sites of the Ardèche region, an organic winemaker shares his passion for Rhône wines, 80 metres below the surface, in the intimacy of the Saint-Marcel cave.

A unique sensory experience is guaranteed! Raphael Pommier, the audacious owner of the Notre-Dame-de-Cousignac vineyard, in the Ardèche region, matures his "vinolithic" vintage in the Saint-Marcel-d’Ardèche cave. Though it may seem like a crazy idea, he invites you to follow him 80 m underground to enjoy a unique wine-tasting experience. Equipped with a jumpsuit, headlamp, climbing harness, ropes and the necessary safety equipment, thrillseekers abseil down to join the oak wine casks in which Raphael Pommier’s Côtes-du-Rhône Villages organic wine is left to mature for six months.

This unusual tour offers you wine-tasting sensations like no other: perfect silence, the pleasure of exploring a cave that is also a wine cellar, and the experience of well-preserved nature.

The cave, made mostly of limestone, provides the ideal conditions in which to age wine: mineral surroundings, total darkness, a constant temperature of 14 °C and 90% humidity.

A cavern a few kilometres from the Chauvet cave

This unusual tour also offers you wine-tasting sensations like no other: access to a unique site where perfect silence reigns; the pleasure of exploring a cave that is also a wine cellar; the experience of well-preserved nature. The discovery trail known as the ‘Large Rock Path’ allows you to calmly appreciate the large ‘rooms’ and waterfalls of this immense and enchanting place.

For less adventurous wine tourists, the Notre-Dame-de-Cousignac vineyard, with its long tradition of hospitality, offers a variety of more orthodox wine tastings on the surface. Only a few kilometres away, you can also visit a replica of the Chauvet cave, the oldest painted cave in the world (36,000 years old) and a World Heritage site.

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We’ll do our best to regularly send you some interesting bits about wine tourism in France.. We do hope to see you soon in French vineyards. In the meantime don’t forget to visit our sister site www.france.fr (the official source of inspiration to France).